


Fair Fun

by cranky__crocus



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-04
Updated: 2010-10-04
Packaged: 2017-10-12 10:08:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranky__crocus/pseuds/cranky__crocus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year later, Erica spends some time at a fair to remember life before shoddy hospitals. Richard is escaping from a life that he no longer fits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fair Fun

**Author's Note:**

> I don't remember what EVENT prompted this - some gift-giving event - but I remember getting a request for Erica/Richard from krizzzie. I thought I would die writing it. I have it all written out in a notebook and remembering having to watch SO MANY things with pretty pretty women to get through writing it. :P The general consensus was that I pulled it off, though, so endless joy for that!

            Erica Hahn couldn’t believe she was at a fair. Fairs were surreal and adolescent; they were teenage breeding grounds—almost literally, given the number of junior and senior high kids making out in the dark field behind the rides. She could smell cotton candy, toffee apples, fried dough and burnt popcorn. Music was booming, rides and children were screeching and game salespeople were hollering over each other, working to grab the attention of any passer-by.

            Yet here she was: a cardiothoracic surgeon amongst the sticky muck that was a fairground. It was 9 o’clock at night in a quaint New England suburban town and there was nowhere else to be unless she felt like commuting to the nearest city for a bar. The fair would have to make due.

            Erica strolled past the food stands and music stage to the ticket booth. She scanned the sign and shrugged. Sunday, band day: a short second in popularity from Saturday’s fireworks. Fireworks made her wince for the environment anyway. She slipped a twenty under the sale glass and swiped up her little change with the purple band. It snapped easily to her wrist.

            And so it was. Adolescents with straightened hair and makeup-darkened eyes gawked at her as she passed.

            There was a hint of stars in the chilly September sky, winking down with flirting attempts to by-pass the fair’s flashing fairy lights. Erica swore she saw one soar south toward the trees; she smiled.

            Her stroll was slow as she meandered through the crowds, hands stuffed loosely in her trouser pockets. Her hair—grown long once more—hung straight around her shoulder blades. She felt the pressure of an elastic snug around her wrist: she had come prepared. In her youth the adrenaline of rollercoasters and speed rides had been her companion; she hoped it still was. Regardless, she would learn one more thing about her adult self today.

            The great arch of the Pharaoh’s Ship caught her eyes. Her feet led her there until she was gazing up at the ship’s even parabola. A loose smile spread over her lips as she remembered.

            During her family’s one trip to the renowned amusement parks of Florida she had ridden one of the ships that went fully upside-down, one of the first truly exhilarating rides she had taken. Immediately it was a competition with her big brother—when wasn’t it?—for who could handle the most rollercoasters. For that blissful week, she was hooked. They tied. It created a life-long appreciation for adrenaline and kinetic motion.

            “You gonna get on, lady, or stand there all night?” a harsh New England voice asked; but when she turned she faced a smiling boy in his 20’s, probably just post-grad. “It’s one of my faves. Worth the band.” He nodded at her left wrist.

            She ran that hand through her hair and pulled it back with the other into a messy bun. She was going informal for the evening, after all. She hitched her jaw and grinned. “Yeah, I’m in. Just reminiscing. I want a back seat.”

            “You just wait there then,” he replied with an appreciative and humoured grin. He gestured a few teenagers from behind her onto the platform and winked. “We’ll get you that perfect seat.”

            She dipped her head in gratitude and murmured a heartfelt thanks. If fair folk were notorious asshats, she had cashed her luck for the evening.

            When the next ride was due, she climbed onto the platform and hurried to the right, sliding into the last bench. She settled in the middle and inspected each passenger that followed her on. She knew her looks were intense, but she would have softened them to the point of invitation had she seen anyone intriguing. No one caught her eye; she sat happily alone.

            Erica smiled through the entire ride. The butterflies reconnected across her belly and the stomach drop made her almost breathless with pleasure. At first she watched the rest of the fair like an owl from its perch, but soon she closed her eyes to let the motions and sensations wash over her. She was delicately flushed when she stepped from the boat.

            “Did it live up to what you remembered?” the operated prompted as she stepped down the exit ramp. She turned when she reached the bottom.

            Her grin held no mercy and her eyes were blazing fire when she responded simply, “More than.”

            The young man gave her a wicked smile and a brusque nod, all too aware of her symptoms: an addict reborn.

 

 

Erica Hahn rode every ride of interest at least five times each, more for her three favourites. The kids, also making their rounds, learned to stay out of her way and instead ride her coattails. Her tenacity had earned her the respect of the operators, including a few perks: speed through lines, pick of seats and double rides. Her body and brain swam in ecstasy from twists and turns, rises and falls, spins and stops. Her messy bun was forever redone.

            At last she decided it was time to view the fair from the top. She detested the placid pace of the Ferris Wheel, but the height was exhilarating in itself. Erica stepped into line; she tapped her foot: it had been a while since she had been required to stay in one of the fair’s foul lines. She didn’t yet have the privileges gained from impressing the operator,

            The surgeon stepped into the basket and looked out to the sky, uninterested in whom she would be stuck with for the ride. She heard the dour-faced operating woman approach the carriage once more; weight shifted the carriage. Erica kept staring out the huge side window. The door closed. A throat cleared—wasn’t hers. The carriage pulled up to re-board another basket.

            “You look familiar,” a deep voice uttered at last; there was no real confidence to back up the tone. Erica felt a prominent lack of respect for the intruder of her solitude. She turned to look into stunned brown eyes. He breathed, “Erica Hahn.”

            She was too shocked to the core to speak. The irony of the situation pounded in her blood and ears until she didn’t know if she should laugh, cry or throw one of them out the carriage. She was stuck with the man she most wanted to avoid in the place she was least able to escape. This settled it: slow rides sucked.

 

 

“And to think Ferris Wheels are rumoured to be romantic,” Erica drawled, looking away again. She didn’t want to acknowledge any shared history of depravity or amorality today. “Somebody didn’t get the memo.”

            Richard took a breath and exhaled slowly. It had a ragged sound to it, a pained edge. “I’m so sorry, Erica. I made so many mistakes.”

            Erica didn’t want to hear it. She raised her eyebrows and looked sidelong at him. “Why are you here?”

            “At the fair because it’s the closest memory I have to raising a child of my own.” The man shifted uncomfortably and watched the basket move higher before it stopped. “As for Massachusetts… I grew up in a similar place. I needed to get away. I was replaced at the hospital during the merge, and instead of being thrilled with my forced retirement my, wife was unsure of what to do with the mess I’ve become without the hospital.”

            “About time some serious action was taken,” Erica responded evenly. Her reserve of compassion had been used up and over-drafted when it came to Seattle Grace.

            “I deserved that,” the once-imposing form responded, but his voice now rang with tones of regret, apology and self-pity. “I have come to realise how much my hand had part in Seattle Grace’s fall: so many mistakes I see now that I didn’t see then. All I was concerned about was keeping accreditation, but I didn’t comprehend that problems threatening accreditation have worse consequences: they are symptoms of infection in a hospital. You saw it and left—healed, I hope. I didn’t know I was infected, that we were all infected, until it was too late. You were right. We deserved our ranking.”

            “You _deserved_ to be inspected by UNOS,” the blonde corrected, but her tone had lightened. It was hard to stay under a year’s worth of bitter solid ice when someone else admitted verbatim that she was right. Which was, of course, true.

            Weber sighed and nodded his head; he looked like an abused puppy. That was not something that had ever worked on Hahn before: in fact it customarily increased her disdain. Seeing the man who had once stood tall in the hospital—even if incorrectly—so downtrodden was actually pitiful.

            “Where does it go from here for Seattle Grace?” Erica inquired, displeased that she cared at any level of her mind.

            “I don’t know. People lost jobs, all new faces, hectic… I still remember Callie Torres yelling at me about not having a position for her, and how the ortho Attending was a useless dinosaur. She was right. Everyone else is always right, it seems, but it doesn’t make it easier to get the right things done. It all feels grey.”

            “Perhaps it was time for a new chief,” Erica voiced, but it was quieter and gentler than she had expected it.

            “Perhaps it was,” he repeated, deadly soft; it held the disappointment and resentment of a lifetime. He braced his hands on his knees and squeezed. “I feel like I could use a few stiff drinks. I refuse to slide down that slope again.” He crossed his arms, decidedly ready to change the subject. “Do you remember Callie Torres, ortho?”

            Erica closed her eyes as if thinking back instead of wiping away her emotions. She cleared her throat and shrugged one shoulder. “I have some recollection of her and Sloan.”

            “She was devastated for a long time after you left. Now she’s with a paeds surgeon and seems happy enough. I’m glad Arizona makes her happy.” Richard was oblivious to Hahn’s expression.

            “Ah, yes, Callie is notorious for knowing exactly what she wants,” the other surgeon replied. She kept the venom from her voice. She was astounded to find that the thought didn’t pain her unbelievably. She really was healing, apparently.

            They were back at the top of the Ferris Wheel, which they had hardly noticed during previous rotations. Neither seemed inclined to speak. They took one more smooth round before they slowed and stopped close to the top. An older couple was getting off the ride.

            “It really is beautiful, isn’t it?” Richard murmured as he gazed out over the crowds and flashing lights. “I’ve missed moments like this…the peace of them, instead of pieces. It makes me feel that I can live through losing the hospital. Maybe I can regain faith in myself. Thank you for sharing this moment with me.”

            Hahn blinked. She was at a loss for words. Ordinarily she would riposte something relaying her physical lack of choice, but for once it didn’t seem to fit and wasn’t her honest answer. Instead she dipped her head and knit her fingers in her lap. “It was the same for me.”

            Their heartfelt and unexpected words complete, the two remained silent until they had touched down and walked through the exit gate. They turned simultaneously, unsure of what to do. Erica felt bereft without her accustomed anger; she felt companionship may prove enjoyable.

            “Do you have to get home for work?” Weber looked over Erica’s shoulder.

            “No, I was intending to stay until everyone left. You’re welcome to stick around with me until you wish to head home,” Hahn invited coolly, taking her first step forward with or without Richard. He followed silently and stayed at her shoulder.

            “Adelle may be done with me for good this time,” he mentioned. He attempted to keep it light but was unsuccessful. The man seemed unsure of what else to say.

            Erica took a deep breath. She took in the changes: professional to personal, distaste to sympathy, hatred to something akin to companionship. Weber was being open, for once in the right setting, and she had the remarkable urge to reciprocate. She had come out to a number of people on a need-to-know basis (dates tended to be on that list, of course), but she still wasn’t used to the process.

            “Callie was upset when I left because we were romantically attached, but not at the point of being exclusive—or so Callie apparently believed, given she slept with Mark. That’s one of the reasons I left.” Erica didn’t brave a look up through her revelation. Her peripheral informed her that Richard was staring straight ahead as well, taking it all in. She added, “Callie helped…no, Callie got me out of the closet. I needed to go somewhere new to match my new life realisation.”

            “That brings clarity,” Richard responded evenly, nodding once. “Majority problem with the hospital, immorality and unprofessional colleagues; minority personal need. I understand.” He spoke slowly, choosing each phrase with care. “Thank you for telling me. I feel I should reciprocate. Did you notice my treatment of Grey—Meredith?”

            Erica at last chanced a glance. This conversation thrilled her, as her respect for the man increased. She felt she was at last viewing the man who had been recognised with the title of Chief, this man she had seldom witnessed within the confines of the hospital. It was still preferable to understand that a professional, intelligent and understanding man _did_ lie beneath.

            “Yes, I did. It was more watchful than with the other residents. It was fatherly rather than an observant superior,” she answered at last.

            “Interesting you should phrase it in such a way,” he remarked, smiling sadly. “You know of Meredith’s mother. We were Attendants together. I was young, stupid and already married—I fell in love with her. I never had children with Adelle—almost, a few times—and Ellis had Meredith, who was forever running amuck in the hospital. Having an almost step-daughter of mine suddenly not in diapers but instead a doctor in my hospital muddled my mind and history.”

            “The hospital sounds like your downfall as well,” the blonde conjectured, shaking her head. “Your own personal Roman Empire rising and falling.”

            Richard laughed heartily, his smile pulling out of melancholy. He shook it off and sighed. “I led it to a terrible fall. Maybe this merge, this alliance, will bring it a new rise.”

            “We can hope.” She watched his profile carefully. He really cared about that place she now so detested; his heart was attached. That was admirable—she was that passionate and connected to her own hospital, usually. It had been a mistake for Weber to grow so obsessed with raising the ranking that he resolved problems with bias and unprofessional frenzy, but he had done it from the right place. She could at least respect that he cared.

            Richard’s profile changed dramatically as he cracked a smile. His laughter transformed him. “Now I understand how you were the only beautiful woman to reject Mark Sloan, possibly since he was a teenager. He so prides himself on picking the best and seducing them the fastest.”

            Hahn rolled her eyes but joined in the laughter. That was Sloan to the T. The woman paused in her walk. “You think I’m beautiful?”

            The man stopped as well and raised his eyebrow. “Is that surprising? You are strong, confident, skilful and self-aware. You don’t take anything from anyone. People like you are stunning.”

            “At least I know you’re not trying to flatter me into accepting a job,” Erica drawled, grinning. She chuckled. “I’m beginning to understand that you’re handsome in a parallel manner, in the light I once saw you in.”

            “You mean I’m redeemed?” Richard’s smile was amused and hopeful.

            The cardio Goddess elbowed his arm and smirked. “Well, you’re getting closer.” The two had reached the end of the strip. The lights of the last ride contrasted the expansive darkness that lay directly behind. “Care for a nature walk?”

            Richard took a look around, hiding his eyes from the lights with his hand. “It looks a bit crowded.”

            “They’re just hormonal teens and pre-teens. Give ‘em the right glare and they part like the Red Sea, as they say.” She stepped beyond the line of light into the shadows and all but disappeared. Her voice arrived like the Cheshire Cat’s. “Are you coming, Mr. Handsome?”

            The ex-surgeon’s chuckle continued as his form disappeared. When he reached the waiting blonde he answered, “Yes, Doctor Hahn.”

            “None of that,” she chided. “Ms. Stunning at your service. Come on, if we walk near the trees we catch the moon.”

            “Don’t talk like that, Ms. Stunning, or I’ll start thinking this is more romantic than the Ferris Wheel.”

            “Isn’t it, though?” Erica questioned, smiling and stuffing her hands in her trouser pockets.

            “I try not to think of romance with lesbians.”

            The blonde turned over her shoulder and yanked the elastic from her hair. She shook it free and stared at the man. “I may be a lesbian, but I do remember life as a straight woman. Metaphorically, it may not have included the fireworks, but the trips to the fair were still memorable.” She held her hand up just beneath her gleaming eyes. “Let’s not talk about it. I’ve been romanticising these fairs since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, maybe an ant.”

            “Who would have known you’d be any sort of romantic?” Richard wondered aloud, smiling faintly as they walked toward the tree line. “Even when I saw you outside the hospital you only killed me at Monopoly and criticised my banking.”

            “No one ever gets to know me in a hospital setting when I’m on duty—I leave me in the locker room,” the woman stated with a remotely quirked brow. She broke out in a sardonic grin. “And I destroyed you at Monopoly because you’re terrible. Any surgeon should be able to count cash.”

            “Well ouch, Ms. Stunning, hitting a man where it hurts.”

            Erica looked him up and down. “Well, you have a strange sense of _that_ , but perhaps it _is_ the ego for finances that turned me gay. Didn’t turn me off surgeons, though, so I haven’t avoided inflated egos.”

            “Says Erica Hahn, who will remind of her own world-class standing to anyone who has forgotten.”

            “At work, at least,” she corrected, still smirking. “I don’t feel the need in my personal life, quite as much.” She laughed and shook her head, dropping her hands to her sides. “But I remind here and there.”

            “We’re all guilty of that, surgeons on the playground…”

            Erica turned to the moon and then away. She saw a large star begin to move and grabbed Richard’s hand as she pointed her finger, but it was too late by the time she said, “Shooting star!”

            “Where?” the man rumbled, searching the skies.

            She stepped up behind him and turned him away from the moon to where the contrast of the stars was most noticeable. The woman smiled at the nearness. It wasn’t the flare and lightning she now acknowledged as incomparable attraction and lust, but it was the comfortable warmth of companionship she had appreciated through the majority of her life. She may not be going after what she loved, but she liked this well enough.

            Hahn wasn’t idealist enough to make a wish on a star for what she wanted; she was obstinate enough to chase it down herself every time, her personal play of predator and prey.

            “How split are you with Adelle?” she inquired, watching Richard’s excitement as he witnessed his first shooting star of the evening.

            “Separated and kicked out until I ‘find myself,’” he answered almost satirically, already searching for the next star in motion. Erica nodded with finality as she made up her mind.

            “I’ll be back in a minute, you keep catching stars, handsome.” She stalked off into the night and approached the nearest group of junior high students. They almost ran but she stopped them.

            “What do you want, lady?” one brave adolescent snapped, fire in her eyes as she looked to her elder.

            “Condoms. Anybody got some?”

            The girl glared and crossed her arms. “We have every intention of using them.”

            “Right,” Erica twanged, drawing out the syllable with a roll of her eyes. She turned to the boys, some who appeared confident while the others seemed the opposite. “How many of you think you’ll actually get laid tonight? Who will bet more than the $20 I’ll put in for them?”

            Three of the boys shoved hands in their back pockets and practically threw them at her. Two more gave them hesitantly after retrieving them from wallets. For the efficient and hasty decisions, she handed each a 10 dollar bill. She winked at the obnoxious teen girl. “I’ve just increased your worth, don’t look so scandalised. If I were you I’d use them for the money and not the rubber.”

            “Shows what you know!” the teen screeched at Erica’s retreating form. The elder female smirked. Youth and its foolish folly run by hormones—the real secret being that it never really ended.

            “What’d you do?” Weber asked as she returned.

            “I was supporting teen abstinence and buying the most expensive sex of my life,” she stated dryly, stepping up to her prey. He looked doubly shocked but seemed interested. She kissed him once. “Now shut up.”

            Erica kissed him long and hard, tugged his jacket collar to her until her stomach touched his as she arched. One leg slipped between his and helped her manoeuvre him to the ground. She straddled his lap and planted herself firmly upon him.

            “Am I beautiful enough for this?” she whispered in his ear, her fingertips resting against the opening of his slacks.

            He brushed his fingertips from her waist up to her breast and kissed her clavicle. “Without question.”

            “Good. Now don’t treat me like a delicate flower and I’ll have no to reason to stab you.” She extricated herself from her shirt and removed him from his tops as he busied himself with her breasts. She tilted her head and peppered his lips with kisses, rubbing lips until he swiped his tongue along hers. It brought her down to business.

            Erica never travelled lower than the belt line with her mouth, but she didn’t stop Richard when he seemed insistent. With the smell of earth around her and the light of the stars above her, she closed her eyes and hissed until she sang to the twinkling lights. Stimulation was what it was.

            She took one moment for sated smiles before she dropped his bottoms and enjoyed him for the rest of the evening.

            Sure, she may have pictured her current Chief’s gorgeous Indian features and feminine smile as she experienced her personal fireworks, but Erica knew who was behind the mechanics of her physical freedom. Next week she would be back to her hospital and Richard would be back in Seattle, possibly having found himself enough for Adelle—business as usual. At least this week she got to experience the hormonal side of fairs she had regrettably missed during high school.

            As always, until tomorrow there was today.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and aren't too squicked out. (:


End file.
